Reviewed by Kevin Scott
I’m pretty open minded when it comes to horror films. I always search for something redeemable somewhere in it. One singular thing that might not appeal to my palette at that point, but that I might come to appreciate later. I pride myself on seeing a glimmer of what the filmmaker intended, and playing on that as something unique and entertaining. However, when it comes to horror themed shows that use what is typically a children’s medium, I’m a complete and total snob. I hate almost every entry in this subgenre. It has nothing to do with the subject matter. It has everything to do with the execution. It has to be dripping with nostalgia like the Great Pumpkin, Mad Monster Party, The Muppets, or the Groovie Ghoulies or…. well that’s about it. It seems that horror themed shows that feature puppets or animation either have to be the milk or the raw meat and nothing in between. I should clarify that last statement. There never seems to be a middle ground. It either has to be dripping with explicit nudity, violence, and profanity, or it has to be Disney or Dreamworks. It’s a tough recipe to get right.
I’m glad I had a chance to check out The Transylvania Television Real Meanin’ of Halloween special. It succeeds in finding a spot on the tricky ledge of that middle ground. To provide some backstory on Transylvania Television, it centers around a TV station ran by Count LeShoc and his group of monsters. Think of it as the Groovie Ghoulies meets WKRP in Cincinnati. There’s Batfink, Furry J. Ackermonster (get it?), Dwayne Frankenstein, and Boris just to name a few. It’s a hidden gem of a series that’s been tossed around a bit, but the Halloween special and the entire series has finally found a home on the Hillbilly Horror Show “Part Duh” Roku channel. The biggest compliment that I can give this series is that it got the blend of a children’s show medium and adult humor in perfect proportions. Your little kids can’t watch it with you, but maybe your teenagers can. I can also say that getting monsters right using puppetry hasn’t been done well since the 1970’s. With everything so dependent on computer enhanced imagery, Transylvania Television looks like real sets and sets a bar for another elusive blend of modern film technology, CGI and tried and true practical effect artistry. If it looks too real, it seems unreal. The polished sheen of computer generated backgrounds and characters either spell big budget money with mass marketing of apparel, stuffed animals, and poseable figures in mind, or the imagery looks better on the local weather forecast green screen. It also has a limited shelf life, and can get dated really quick. Some practical characters and sets give it a sense of visual perspective, warmth, and can extend that shelf life a little longer. I’m sure they used some computer enhancements here, but it also has a comforting little bit of Rankin Bass to it as well.
The Halloween Special Show is must see viewing for All Hallows’ Eve this year. A nice throwback to a time when the term “special” was applied to a series episode, it usually meant that it either had to do with a holiday, drug awareness, or a pervy bicycle shop owner. In this case it just happens to be Halloween and Count LeShoc takes a trip away from the castle. He finds himself trapped and enslaved by sexy Blaxploitation mummy princess, while Batfink and Furry search for the real meaning of Halloween in the bowels of the castle. Anything can happen and watch for a cameo from a Halloween legend, and the legend in his own mind that was inspiration behind him. The special and the complete series will be on Roku this Halloween, and I couldn’t think of anything better to watch between horror films to take the edge off.
